Doctors and their lack of breastfeeding knowledge...

[ChristusG]

I wrote up a blog post this afternoon about the experiences I've had with the medical community and their lack of information when it comes to nursing. What do you guys think? Have you ever experienced this? It's frustrating! The link to my blog is in my signature...I figured I'd just link to there instead of copying it all over.

[meggie]

:grouphug: I'm sorry, that sounds so annoying to have to try and educate your own doctors. I haven't noticed it, but I've never taken medication while nursing.

[Gingerbread Mama]

LOL'ing about the 15 month old comment. Yes, I've had a doctor give me totally idiotic bf'ing advice. With my first baby, his ped told me not to breastfeed him more than a couple of months because "breast milk is to help them grow, if people do it too long they will grow a super human as big as a house." He then proceeded to tell me to just put him on cows milk, that it was basically "the same stuff." Needless to say, that was our last trip to see that guy. I called every parent I knew (we were knew to the area, so it was a short list) and found a wonderful doctor who ended up being right around the corner from our house.

[Whereneverever]

I've found that the only docs who really know breast feeding well are Ped specialists. And only some.

 

It is really frustrating.

[ChristusG]

LOL'ing about the 15 month old comment. Yes, I've had a doctor give me totally idiotic bf'ing advice. With my first baby, his ped told me not to breastfeed him more than a couple of months because "breast milk is to help them grow, if people do it too long they will grow a super human as big as a house." He then proceeded to tell me to just put him on cows milk, that it was basically "the same stuff." Needless to say, that was our last trip to see that guy. I called every parent I knew (we were knew to the area, so it was a short list) and found a wonderful doctor who ended up being right around the corner from our house.

 

 

What???!!! LOL, that is totally crazy!!

[ktgrok]

I've been lucky because my ped has a lactation consultant (IBLC) on staff. So he is kept up to date. But yes, a lot of doctors are clueless. I did have one dumb nurse tell me to give my daughter who was only 3 months old pedialyte when she was sick because breastmilk was milk and would make her congested. I called and spoke to the IBLC and sicced her on the other nurse, lol.

[ChristusG]

I've been lucky because my ped has a lactation consultant (IBLC) on staff. So he is kept up to date. But yes, a lot of doctors are clueless. I did have one dumb nurse tell me to give my daughter who was only 3 months old pedialyte when she was sick because breastmilk was milk and would make her congested. I called and spoke to the IBLC and sicced her on the other nurse, lol.

 

Now that you mention it, when my oldest was a newborn, she kept throwing up at only 2 weeks old. Her pediatrician told me to give her Pedialyte to calm her tummy. She immediately threw it up. If I knew then what I knew now, I never would have given her the Pedialyte! Of course she threw it up...it's a much different consistency than what a newborn is accustomed to. And the breastmilk definitely wasn't what was irritating her tummy. I had forgotten all about that until you mentioned it.

[ktgrok]

Now that you mention it, when my oldest was a newborn, she kept throwing up at only 2 weeks old. Her pediatrician told me to give her Pedialyte to calm her tummy. She immediately threw it up. If I knew then what I knew now, I never would have given her the Pedialyte! Of course she threw it up...it's a much different consistency than what a newborn is accustomed to. And the breastmilk definitely wasn't what was irritating her tummy. I had forgotten all about that until you mentioned it.

 

what i find most ridiculous is that the breastmilk has antibiodies against whatever illness she is fighting. Why on earth would i give her artificial dyes and flavors rather than something that is medicinal and will cure her sooner? so dumb.

[weddell]

I've had mixed experiences. The regular ped never said anything too crazy that I can remember. When ds was a newborn he grew quite rapidly. At 2 weeks when a baby is supposed to have gotten back up to his birth weight, ds was quite past it. The ped we saw then tried to accuse me of overfeeding him even though I was nursing on demand with no formula or other supplementation. But it turns out that is just how ds is (takes after his grandfather). Fortunately it was my second baby and I really didn't care what the ped thought about nursing.

 

Dd's allergist was talking to me about what she ate when she was 9 months old. He wanted to know how much formula she'd had. I said "none, she is still nursing." he replied " no, I mean like enfamil, you know formula." I said, "I know what formula is and she has never had any in her life. I even donated the samples we got in the mail to a food bank." He was truly surprised. I don't think he had EVER met a baby that hadn't had formula. I laughed for a long time that he tried to explain to me what formula was, but I was also kind of annoyed that he didn't really believe you could have a 9 month old that had never had any.

Edited February 24, 2012 by weddell

[gardenmom5]

my brother, who supposedly "read up" on all of this before the birth of his last child (with his 2nd wife who had no children) - because he was going to be so invovled - demanded the nurses give a bottle to the baby because his wife's milk hadn't come in yet. When he told me, I did give him the lecture on collustrum and that that is what babies are meant to have "before the milk comes in". :tongue_smilie:

 

It was my ped's nurse who gave me the "lecture" on how to wean when #4 had just turned a year old. I stared at her blankley - but that didn't discourage her and I realized I needed to be more blunt. "this is my fourth child, I know what I"m doing." her reply was quite startling - "there all your's? they aren't adopted?" (apparently, she thought my olders were step-children.)

[Ellie]

Oh good grief. :glare:

 

I didn't have problems with my doctor, probably because I didn't ask him any questions. I asked LLL. There was a moment with my second one that could have been problematic--dd was slightly jaundiced a few days after birth--but the nurse practitioner left it up to me to decide whether dd needed to be seen again. The doctor was clueless, bless his heart, as to why my first dd had so many diaper rashes; turned out that she was lactose inolerant, and I found that out by reading "New Wives Tales." But in general, we made it through unscathed by doctors and nurses. Whew!

[TheReader]

The only medicine issues I had when pregnant/nursing were when I went to see my doctor about migraines and he was hesitant to prescribe something, but I honestly don't fault the doctors that much for not understanding interactions with meds & momma's milk. The sheer number of meds out there, and new ones added every week it seems, it makes sense to me they'd rather play it safe.

 

Now, willing to stop and research it with you/for you --- that would be excellent. But to just know off the top of their head exactly what medicine is best for nursing moms? That aspect doesn't really bother me, and I would be fine discussing it with the pharmacist instead.

 

HOWEVER, I did have a jaw dropping moment when I was nursing my youngest. He was 9 months at the time and went in for his first ever ear infection; the pediatrician asked if he was eating well. I told her he wasn't eating much solid food yet (he was 9 wks early, so his corrected age was only 7 months) but that he nursed a ton. She got very upset, told me I needed to cut his nursing in half at least b/c without solid food he wasn't getting a balanced diet.

 

I calmly asked her what nutrients he was lacking so that I could make sure that the food he did get was rich in those vital nutrients, whatever they might be. She couldn't, or wouldn't, elaborate, just kept repeating over and over that I needed to cut his nursing in half as he wasn't getting a balanced diet. I reminded her that he was premature, that the World Health Organization recommends nursing until *at least* 2 yrs old and beyond if both mother & child desire to continue, and that the added immune benefits were vital to his continued good health, but that if she had information on what vitamins/minerals were most important, I would be sure that I introduced foods rich in those vitamins.

 

She never did tell me, and then at his 1 yr check-up he was found to be anemic (why she didn't mention that at the 9 month appt is beyond me) and she wanted me to stop nursing all together at that point. We switched peds then and found someone who would treat the anemia (very common in preemies, and i wish someone along the way would have been more proactive about that) yet encourage me to keep nursing.

 

I found out at that time that the 1st ped was notorious for being anti-breastfeeding. We'd switched to her when our original ped retired and she took over his practice, but it really infuriated me to think this pediatrician in this small town, where choices were seriously limited, was promoting such an anti-breastfeeding agenda to all the moms in her practice.

[chepyl]

In MO, the pediatrician I had for DS was great. He was very supportive and encouraginof breastfeeding. At 6 months he told me I could start to add foods, but it was not necessary until a year. I also had an amazing post pardum nurse who spent all night with me trying to help DS nurse. I was incredibly swollen and he could not latch on. She made sire he was nursing by morning and never offered a bottle. Baby was hungry, but she kbew the GED thing was to get him nursing again, not derail our progress with a bottle.

 

If my first experiencehad not bee this way, things might have gone differently with my son.

 

My Dd was born in OK. I knew she might not eat for 12 hours. She slept, all day. The nurse said she needed to eat and she would get a sugar water bottle. I knew what she needed and said "no, she is sleeping, when she is hungry she will nurse. Babies don't need to eat right away." She was cranky with me the rest of my stay. We left the hospital as soon as they let us out! (With my first, we stayed until they said we had too leave ;) )

 

We only saw the pediatrician with Dd once. After that it was the PA. At 9 months she asked if did could use a cup. I said yes, she will occasionally SIP water. She proceeded to tell me that it was about the time they like to start weaning babies. I told her I nursed DS until he was about 2 and she just stared at me. She was very pregnant at the time herself.....

 

My best friend was told she was not big enough to breastfeed. She has successfully nursed four babies now. Her mom yelled at the nurse who told her that. :)

 

Before my son was born I read tue book So That's What Their For. I read it again with DD. It helped me be prepared for what might happen in the hospital. I recommend that book to everyone I know. It is highly informative and entertaining.

[Annie]

Our pediatrician is pretty great, but I got some terrible advice before I left the hospital. Some of it makes me too irritated to talk about in the morning. I had one doctor tell me that there was no way my milk had come in because I wasn't engorged. The conversation when something like this:

 

Dr: Has your milk come in?

Me: Yes

Dr: You don't look very uncomfortable. Are your bre@sts hard?

Me: No, but my milk has come in.

Dr: That's not possible. You have to be engorged when your milk comes in. There's no way you have milk.

Me: Not every woman gets engorged. There is milk coming out.

Dr: Well my wife nursed three kids, and she was always engorged and miserable. If I release you, you better get to the pediatrician tomorrow because there's no way your baby will be getting enough food.

Me: *smile and nod so I can go home*

 

For the record, I never got engorged. I'm still nursing at 21 months. I'm pretty sure I have milk. :tongue_smilie:

 

The same doctor told me there was absolutely no reason to be nursing more than 10 minutes per side. So my baby wasn't getting enough food because I obviously didn't have enough milk, but heaven forbid I nurse longer so he gets more food. :sigh:

 

Thankfully, I had been going to LLL meetings for a few months before he was born and took a class at the local parenting center. If I hadn't been prepared, I doubt we would have gotten out of the hospital still exclusively nursing.

[G5052]

Our first ped doc was very supportive. He was in his 60s and very much into handling things naturally.

 

The second was married to a LLL leader, so he gave me tips from things his wife told him.

 

Also a good friend of ours is a lactation consultant who teaches that at a nursing school, has research grants, etc.

[Rivka]

I've had mixed experiences.

 

Our pediatrician is great - very, very positive about nursing. (I screened for that when we were interviewing doctors.) When my daughter had a ton of trouble nursing, he worked closely with my lactation consultant.

 

When my son had stomach flu at 20 months old, he wound up in the ER with dehydration. When the ER doctor and nurse gave me his discharge instructions, they both emphasized to me that "breastmilk counts as a clear liquid, so he should nurse as much as he can." I was impressed that they remembered he was nursing, and encouraged it at his age.

 

On the other hand, the mother-baby nurse when I had my first was terrible. I couldn't get the baby to stop crying her second night, and when I asked the nurse for advice she told me that breastfed babies get really hungry. "Most mothers decide to give them a bottle." Gee, thanks.

 

I also had an issue with a pharmacy when I was prescribed an albuterol inhaler. The urgent care doc looked it up and said it was fine for nursing a toddler. The pharmacy plastered it with "do not breastfeed" stickers. :confused: I took the prescription back, checked with the doctor, looked it up on Hale's, and tried another pharmacy. The second pharmacy put a note on it that said it might decrease nursing in a very young baby. That's all.

[TXMomof4]

When ds was little I got mastitis. I got mastitis with each baby, right around 6 weeks, but it was BAD with him. DH was deployed and I had driven the 8 hours to my parents house with all 4 kids because I was at the very end of my rope with my sweet baby. Once we got there I crashed and was sick, sick, sick. 104^ fever, chills, hallucinations - it was really bad. I knew what was wrong and was just going to call my OB to get an rx. My mom was pretty scared and insisted I go to the ER. So, I did and got the most pig-headed, ignorant dr. I've ever met. He was adamant that the only way to treat mastitis was to stop nursing. HELLO? That only makes it worse! I nursed or pumped through all of the previous 3 children and I certainly planned on continuing. He was absolutely certain he was right so I had him call my OB to get my 'history' and the treatments that had worked before. My dr. ended up calling in a prescription because the ER doc wasn't 'comfortable with the situation'.

 

Ridiculous!

[Mama Geek]

The funny thing is I have gone to a couple of different clinics for UTI's or other minor problems while Bfing and told them I was breastfeeding. They plugged it into a computer and it told them which drugs were more safe than others. It just isn't that hard to have that information.

 

My OB called the powers that be at the hospital where dd was born and chewed them out b/c the ped kept dd from being released because he was looking for the signs of her having been bottle fed as far as a pee and poop schedule. He told me I needed to give her a bottle. Luckily the nursing staff at my dr's OB's office had given me a schedule for the first 7 days while bfing and I promptly ignored it.

[KellyGirl]

I went to see my GP because of a nagging wrist injury. During the exam, I was nursing the (tiny) baby. She sent me for a bone scan. When I arrived at the place for the bone scan, the tech looked around at my kids and asked if I was nursing. Then she said, "You know you have to take the radioactive drink and can't nurse for 72 hours after this, right?" So I dragged my 5 kids out for a totally useless appointment. The poor, sweet tech kept apologizing to me about it. But really doctor? I was nursing the baby in front of you when you sent me for the scan!!!!!!!

[NanceXToo]

I haven't read your blog post yet but as a quick response, yes I've noticed that to some extent back when I was nursing.

 

Unfortunate, but I figure it like I wouldn't talk to my medical doctor about my teeth, I'd go to my dentist for that.

 

I wouldn't talk to my dentist about my female parts, I'd talk to my gynecologist about that.

 

May as well talk to a lactation consultant about breastfeeding, because they're going to be the most up-to-date and knowledgeable about THAT, it's THEIR field/specialty, not the doctor's or pediatrician's.

[happypamama]

I would not expect doctors who don't deal with infants very often to be up on every current medication vs. breastfeeding, but I think that doctor's response was ridiculous. I'm glad they found one you can take! (Also, what does it say about breastfeeding in our culture that she didn't assume you were breastfeeding your small infant?)

 

My experiences have generally been pretty good, but I've never had a reason for controversy either; I've not needed any medication that was incompatible with nursing. My peds/family docs have all been happily pro-breastfeeding for my babies, but I also don't ask for their advice. The family doc who sees me and all of my children is really sweet and young, and she seems to know that I know what I'm doing and that she works for me. She asked at the first visit when I like to start solids, and when I said, "a year," she just nodded.

[Lizzie in Ma]

LOL'ing about the 15 month old comment. Yes, I've had a doctor give me totally idiotic bf'ing advice. With my first baby, his ped told me not to breastfeed him more than a couple of months because "breast milk is to help them grow, if people do it too long they will grow a super human as big as a house." He then proceeded to tell me to just put him on cows milk, that it was basically "the same stuff." Needless to say, that was our last trip to see that guy. I called every parent I knew (we were knew to the area, so it was a short list) and found a wonderful doctor who ended up being right around the corner from our house.

 

What an idiot.

I nursed my second for a little over 3 years. She is a complete beanpole, not an ounce of extra weight on her.

[Carrie12345]

With my first three nurslings (numbers 2, 3, and 4) I had horrible dr. "advice". All 3 were dx'ed FTT and I was told to supplement. First two wound up fully weaned by 3 months. I ignored them with number 4, and he followed the same exact pattern as the ones I gave formula @@.

 

With number 5, my peds WERE more knowledgable, but we had added issues with reflux, MSPI, and genuine FTT. There was a lack of support to keep bfing going, along the lines of "Well, that'd be great, but don't knock yourself out because it's going to be nearly impossible." Maybe I could have done it with actual encouragement (or maybe not), but I definitely wasn't able to without it.

[stripe]

Yes, I've had a doctor give me totally idiotic bf'ing advice. With my first baby, his ped told me not to breastfeed him more than a couple of months because "breast milk is to help them grow, if people do it too long they will grow a super human as big as a house."

 

:001_huh: that is hilarious. Just hilarious.

 

I have had fairly few dumb comments from doctors about bfing. I think they believe I belong to a different ethnic group for which some of the nurses have some funny stereotypes, and one of them I think is being rabidly proBF but I'm not really sure, anyway they've been supportive on the whole.

[melissad2]

When my oldest ds was born he had a heart defect and had to go to the NICU, I was obviously distraught and was desperately wanting to breastfeed. The lactation consultant at the hospital was horrible! She knew nothing about my pump and couldn't seem to help me figure it out. I couldn't get it to turn on and she was like :confused: and suggested I call Medela and get the to send me a new one! Ummm hello I need one like now, as I'm about to get on a plane to fly with my sick baby to a children's hospital and I just had a csection less than 24hrs ago! Needless to say breastfeeding did not work out and I deeply regret that I wasn't more assertive about it. The children's hospital wasn't any more helpful either :( . With my 2nd I read and researched everything I could and watched videos about proper latching technique as I was determined to make it work. When he was born I had the same lactation consultant and saw her exactly once, although she did come in before I was discharge and asked me if I needed anything? I smiled and told her that I had it under control and didn't need her after all :). I went on to nurse him for 20 months. I think when this one is born I will offer to teach the lactation consultant how to breastfeed.

 

Our pediatrician was very supportive and never told me I was feedin too much or too often. He was always like just " nurse on demand" if baby is hungry feed him :). I hear from women all the time that they didn't have enough mil or their milk didn't come in so they gave a bottle :( and I'm always saying that is the beginning of the end...decreased demand equals decreased supply!

[Momof3littles]

We have had good experiences with most of our doctors through the years. Our very first ped was in a practice affiliated with a well-known children's hospital. She was really annoyed that we didn't have a paci on hand for her exam. She also looked like her eyes were going to bug out of her head when I told her my milk was just starting to come in on day 5. DS1's weight was perfectly fine. Clearly he was getting what he needed and was starting to regain.

 

My niece was whisked away at birth and given sugar water because she was 9 lbs. I understand the risks of hypoglycemia in larger babies, but I think the actual evidence-based guideline is that the baby should be given the chance to nurse first and then the blood sugar is checked. If sugar is low, baby should be encouraged to nurse, or at that point they may need to give sugar water. However, my niece had no other health concerns but was given sugar water solely because she was 9lbs. The same hospital also told my SIL (mom of 5, this was her 5th baby) that she had to supplement or her baby was going to "have brain damage." My niece was staying adequately hydrated, was peeing and pooping plenty. Under those circumstances, I'm pretty sure the important thing is that she stayed hydrated. As long as she was nursing, I believe the AAP does not advocate supplementing.

 

The rest of our doctors after the first one who had the hissy fit about us not using a paci have been great. We have actively sought-out BFing friendly physicians though. Our family practice doctor in our last home state ran BFing classes for women in his office. He was awesome.

 

My biggest gripes are when they don't follow evidence based guidelines, and don't follow their own professional body's advice (like the AAP saying BFing is fine past one year for as long as mutually desired). I also believe that if you have a gap in your education when it comes to BFing, you have an obligation as a doctor to refer out to a LC or get yourself some adequate training. Feeding babies *is* a big part of being a pediatrician. I feel the same way about the carseat info some peds hand out (recommending FFing at a year, for example). Basic child safety and nutrition are something they encounter every day. Learn about it or refer out.

[Catherine]

It's the kind of private hospital that has beautifully decorated "birthing rooms." Her OB actually told her that he had NEVER in his career seen someone give birth unmedicated by choice!! I mean, how is that possible?? You won't be surprised to learn, I'm sure, that the cesarean rate there is upwards of 40%.

 

In a way, that is a big part of the problem-mothers who choose to give birth unmedicated and nurse more than 2 weeks are in another culture, and have zero contact with "conventional" docs-so they truly have no clue that these practices are out there and are pretty common. That's one reason why I try to talk about it whenever I find someone who will listen. Otherwise, they will go on thinking their little corner of the world represents all of us. Egads.

[itsheresomewhere]

Well my OBGYN basically told me I was a horrible person because I was leaning towards not breastfeeding (I was planning to return to work and there was no way I'd be able to figure out a time/place to pump). There was no support, information, etc. just a really nasty reaction when I was asked what my plans were (as if it is anyone's business). Her attitude was so mean it basically killed any ounce of reconsidering I might have had about it.

 

Then there was some poster in the hospital that pretty much made it seem that if I didn't breastfeed my child would be stupid and ill.

 

I attempted to breastfeed my first child. Whatever I tried it only hurt like hell and I felt like I couldn't make it work. When I asked for assistance from the staff at the hospital they just shoved my son onto me (which didn't work). I gave up.

 

The ped didn't seem to care either way.

 

So those were my lovely experiences. :glare:

 

 

I had the same type of experiences. I can not breastfeed. Long story and now I understand why. My OB was the one who helped me figure out why and if I ever have more kids, she will be the only doctor I see. However, at the hospital it was like I was committing abuse. More lectures than anyone could have imagined. My ped says if the baby is happy and healthy who is he to disagree with that.

[ktgrok]

wow..my poor baby. She was 9lbs and never had sugar water. Lucky she lived, lol. Same with my friends that all had 10lb plus babies!

[ktgrok]

OH, and my sister's baby was given a bottle of formula in the recovery room after her c-section because she was "so hungry" according to the nurses. Um...she's only been out of the womb for about 25 minutes, how hungry could she be????

 

She never did learn to latch properly to breastfeed. And when my sister said that she didn't think the baby was getting enough milk they told her the baby was fine. 2 hours after checking out the baby was lethargic and half concious from low blood sugar. Then the doctor yelled at her because she hadn't pumped to "find out how much milk she had." He thought all moms pumped, and that it was an accurate way to tell how much milk the baby was getting. Oh, and then they had a lactation consultant come to evaluate the baby, given that she was there for failure to eat enough. All she did was teach my sister how to pump more. I asked my sister what the LC said about the baby's latch and she said they didn't check the baby, as she was sleeping when the LC was there! She never even saw the baby nurse! No before and after weights, no nothing! I was SOOOOOOOO angry.

 

I guess moral of the story is insist on an IBLC certified Lactation consultant, not whatever nurse got the cool pin to wear that day at the hospital.

[NanceXToo]

Of course, back when my older sister was born (she just turned 53 or 54, I forget which), my mother wanted to try breastfeeding her, but said the doctor told her she was too flat-chested and wouldn't be able to and didn't even "let" her try!

 

15 years later she knew better and managed to with me, I guess!

[Cricket]

LOL'ing about the 15 month old comment. Yes, I've had a doctor give me totally idiotic bf'ing advice. With my first baby, his ped told me not to breastfeed him more than a couple of months because "breast milk is to help them grow, if people do it too long they will grow a super human as big as a house." He then proceeded to tell me to just put him on cows milk, that it was basically "the same stuff." Needless to say, that was our last trip to see that guy. I called every parent I knew (we were knew to the area, so it was a short list) and found a wonderful doctor who ended up being right around the corner from our house.

 

:lol: I am going to be laughing about this all day!!! Wouldn't that be so awesome if it were true?! Breast-feeding moms could take over the world!!! Where are all these super humans hiding? It's awfully hard to hide someone as big as a house! :lol::lol:

 

All these stories are crazy. I only had positive experiences with pediatricians concerning nursing. I nursed each child for 1 year and their ped was very happy that I did it for so long. (Not that long, I know, but I think the average in the US is something like two months.)

[mommymilkies]

I have had horrible experiences, too. Our ped when ds was a baby told me I was killing him. Little did I know, eliminating dairy would have cured the problem (as I found out with my next 3 dc!). So he went on formula at 2 months. I am still bitter about that and how I was treated.

[stripe]

So those were my lovely experiences. :glare:

 

Goodness. That's unfortunate. You might find the article on breastfeeding in the recent Harpers to be interesting as it sounds like it speaks to your experience. As great as breastfeeding may be, personally I think we as a society are promoting it in a vacuum. How can a woman breastfeed exclusively if she's back at work? Some women can't afford to stay home, and others don't want to or fear their career will suffer. Clearly there is more to this than "breast is best." There needs to be more help for families across the board.

[fairfarmhand]

I had great experiences with my doctors and nurses and breastfeeding.

 

My second daughter was allergic to breast milk. I was very impressed that the very last resort for medical professionals was to wean her. They didn't even advise than until we had a colonostomy done on her when she was 6 months old. Even then the pediatric gastroenterologist told me that I could still nurse but would need to supplement with iron drops since she was loosing blood through her stool. And she would still continue screaming non-stop. "But if you are committed to nursing...." :lol::lol::lol: I decided to put her on a bottle of nastiness (oh, that stuff was vile!) and for the first time in months she was a happy baby!

 

Perhaps it is because I am so close to a huge University teaching hospital? But I have never had some of the experiences that ya'll have had. Thankfully!

[Bluegoat]

Goodness. That's unfortunate. You might find the article on breastfeeding in the recent Harpers to be interesting as it sounds like it speaks to your experience. As great as breastfeeding may be, personally I think we as a society are promoting it in a vacuum. How can a woman breastfeed exclusively if she's back at work? Some women can't afford to stay home, and others don't want to or fear their career will suffer. Clearly there is more to this than "breast is best." There needs to be more help for families across the board.

 

Maternity leave is a huge part of encouraging nursing.

[Bluegoat]

I went to see my GP because of a nagging wrist injury. During the exam, I was nursing the (tiny) baby. She sent me for a bone scan. When I arrived at the place for the bone scan, the tech looked around at my kids and asked if I was nursing. Then she said, "You know you have to take the radioactive drink and can't nurse for 72 hours after this, right?" So I dragged my 5 kids out for a totally useless appointment. The poor, sweet tech kept apologizing to me about it. But really doctor? I was nursing the baby in front of you when you sent me for the scan!!!!!!!

 

Actually, I think your doctor was probably right. A lot of techs tell people they can't nurse after drinking that stuff, but my understanding is that it is incorrect information.

[Momof3littles]

wow..my poor baby. She was 9lbs and never had sugar water. Lucky she lived, lol. Same with my friends that all had 10lb plus babies!

Yep, I have a 9 lber of my own and he was a HB baby, so no sugar water :) The whole thing made me so sad because the hospital clearly didn't read or didn't care about the policy statements (or position statement?) from the AAP on the blood sugar and jaundice issues. I think it is inexcusable when they just blatantly disregard what the evidence is.

 

SIL did continue nursing her baby through the jaundice without supplementing, but only because she was a confident mom on her 5th baby and had BF all or most of the 5 children. SHe new my niece was hydrated, peeing, and pooping. Her bilirubin levels came down just fine, of course.

[dirty ethel rackham]

A HUGE Amen to your blog post! I have BTDT with all of my kids. First of all, I think it is unconscionable that any doctor who treats women of childbearing age does not have the Thomas Hale book at their fingertips. Can I say that again? They have no business treating women if they are too cheap/lazy to own this book!

 

I have been given the "pump and dump" advice because the doctor/nurse was to f-ing lazy to look up the medication, even when asked. I was told frequently told I was nursing too much and that I shouldn't be a pacifier. That I would not have enough milk for my 10lb 11 oz baby, even though he ended up being the chubbiest 6 month old, etc. I was told I had to supplement with iron and other vitamins, even though his blood work showed that he was not anemic. I was told to wean my middle son when he stopped eating solid foods at 11 months. So ... I should take away the only food source keeping him alive? Huh? It turns out that he had tooth decay on a front tooth - something she should have caught. That was the last straw after lots of her crappy advice. I switched to a family practice doc afterwards. Once we fixed the tooth, he started eating again.

 

I had a friend who was hospitalized with a uterine infection after a normal birth. She was given IV antibiotics and was told to pump and dump. I did a conference call with her and a local IBCLC lactation consultant (because the hospital LC was too lazy to leave the postpartum floor to see someone who was not immediately post-partum.) My LC looked up the meds and found them all to be very low-risk when it came to breastfeeding. The nurse made her dump her pumped milk under her watchful eye so that she couldn't have anyone smuggle the bmilk out of the hospital. Even after she was told that the meds were ok. Even after she was instructed to check in the Hale book.

 

I am still amazed in this day and age with info available at one's fingertips, that this problem still exists. The PA thing cracked me up. So she got through PA school with that inane idea still intact?!?!

[mommaduck]

Posted to my FB page. I've had similar experiences.

[mudboots]

I had great experiences with my doctors and nurses and breastfeeding.

 

Me too. The pediatrician I had with my twins wanted me to record how often they were breastfeeding and for how long, as part of their standard record-keeping. The different doctors I've had with all four of my kids have patted me on the back for breastfeeding, and they weren't confused about which medications I could take.

 

There are some doctors out there who don't keep up with research or who have their own biases. I'm sorry for anyone who runs across them!

 

I also agree about being careful not to put pressure on people who can't breastfeed - for many reasons, medical or otherwise.

[littlebug42]

Before our first daughter was born, dh and I went to interview our pediatrician. We definitely wanted a woman and picked ours because she had breastfed her own children. It is a good thing too because the nurses and the LC at the hospital were useless. They were both telling me different things so dh and I just decided to tune them out and listen to our ped. It worked well for us.

 

ETA: My OB was also excellent. When I had mastitis, I didn't have any trouble with meds and just told me to keep nursing through.

[stripe]

With my youngest child, there was concern that he gain lots of weight after birth. Guess what -- he did. The nurse practitioner told me at 2 or 4 wks (I forgot) only to nurse for 10 min because that's where the "good nutrition" was and otherwise I'd be exhausted. I didn't bother to argue with her, just ignored her, but honestly, I thought she shouldn't interfere as the weight gain was more than hoped for and I was not complaining. I did change to another office, and really never discussed bf with the family doctor I chose. She seems to be of the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" view.

[KatieJ]

I, like Ellie, got my advice from LLL and not my Dr's. I ignored anything they told me that was contrary to LLL advice and we all got along just fine.

I not have grandbabies whose Mommies have mixed experiences with breastfeeding. Mostly good, but they seem to get their advice from Lactation consultations instead of LLL. And not all of it is great, however, I don't interfere unless asked. My theory is, if they don't ask, they aren't listening.

 

I do have a question tho. My newest darling grandaughter is being breastfed and they are doing great. Her Ped Dr. gave them Vitamin D drops and said that Vit D is the only vitamin that babies don't get from mom's milk. My first response is that they don't it then, so let's just not worry about it! God knows what he is doing.

However, they are giving it to her and she is very very gassy, and her diapers smell. I suggested very carefully they consider not giving them to her. "They did stop for a few days, but are still considering giving

them to her but in a much smaller dose.

 

What do you all say?

[TGHEALTHYMOM]

:iagree: I have not read your blog yet, but Oh do I know the medical community, even lactation consultants and midwives.... have been giving misinformation, wrong opinions and lacking the knowlege I have needed for over 15 years.

 

My first baby was born in a University Hospital a few blocks from where I lived and went to college. I did not even plan to nurse him, I was so busy, but he had so much trouble eating, and the nurses were so panicked, they just came to me suddenly to tell me they did not know what to do. :confused:

 

I told them I would try to nurse him, and one was horrid to tell me that I just didn't know that anything I did would affect him. I had quit drinking, and smoking when I found out I was pregnant. I ignored her and went ahead to nurse him beautifully.

 

When I got home, I got acutely engorged,:001_huh: I called to see what to do and just got no real help. My sister went to the store and bought me a little electric pump. She stayed by my side or I could not have done it. It was awful for a few weeks.

 

My second child, born naturally with an RN who is forever in my heart, and even though I was shaking, I nursed her immediately. I got acutely engorged again, and read to use ice and heat alternating. It was still a nightmare for a few weeks.

 

My third child would not wake up to nurse and I had to call the hospital. *in the hospital 2 lactation consultants came to show me how to wake him up... they never did wake him..:confused:. changing diapers, doing sit ups, tickling his foot.... I was worried I would get mastitis... and I almost did... when called, I was transferred to a Pediatric nurse who told me to pump: the lactation consultants Forbade me to pump... I knew `I had to, get the milk out as I was miserable and he would hardly wake up to nurse. My husband rented a professional double pump, and got some cabbage * they told me to freeze it and put it on my breasts whole. All it did was wilt.

 

My fourth child... I skipped the cabbage, had alot of pain, borrowed my sister's double pump and used heat and ice again. Misery for weeks again.

 

My fifth child, I was so wanting to get home to get rest befor the engorgement and left within 24 hours, talking to no Dr. or anyone about what I would be facing.... little did I know.. within 3 days I was clogged up on one side, had a fever, a migraine, and went to the ER... the Dr. wanted to give me pills to dry up my milk. :confused: I was given a total of 5 antibiotics which ended up giving me a terrible rash on my tongue, hands, and face.... upset my baby girl too giving her constipation... I finally got to a specialist, who called his associate (she was on maternity leave) and she said for me to get cabbage and chop it up or shred it fine to stuff in my bra... so on the way home ( about an hour drive) we got cabbage, pulled it apart in the car and when I got home my breast was softer.... I still got no milk out for awhile and pumping took awhile to work, but thick yellow junk had to come out and I took hot showers, baths to hand express, ( my nipple was like a rock) and we had to fix bottles for her and I nursed on one side for a few weeks. Then it was still difficult for a few more weeks to nurse her on the side that was still hard.

 

My 6th and 7 th child, I bought cabbage and borrowed the pump and had much more success. My breast is normal again!! Rarely pumping, no ice messes, a few cold packs, and hot showers. :lurk5:

 

 

I have also had 2 surgeries while nursing and had to pump and dump for 24 hours.

 

Most medications or herbs are not tested on nursing mother's so the consenus is just to not take anything. I do take supplements like cod liver oil, and vitamins, garlic, candida pills, and olive leaf extract.

 

One midwife actually told me that my reflux baby could be allergic to my milk.:glare:

I could not believe she actually put that in my head. He had severe acid reflux for a full year. I did take him to a Pediatrician and he tried some medicine that did no good. He did a test to see the scarring on his esophagus, and sent us to a specialist who encouraged me to keep on breastfeeding, and start making him baby food ( earlier than I ever would have) but her advice seemed logical. He needed as many vitamins and calories as he could get to grow. Needless to say they did work with us and thank God he finally shut off. My husband was against any more testing since they would have to use anesthesia.

 

 

Also, with my 6th child I was extremely anemic and had a terrible Dr. and prayed she would not deliver this child. And another Dr. ended up doing it, but when he came in to see me afterward, he told me I should NOT breastfeed at all because my iron was so low. I told him I always nurse, and so he suggested I limit it to 6 months. I proceeded to tell him I would nurse as long as I could. Crazy! Nursing stops the bleeding for me for a year minimum, and has for as long as 19 months. So that was very bad advice.

 

 

I have been shocked, disappointed, and appalled at the misinformation, and lack of empathy given to me, and am glad I am strong willed.

 

 

My last two birthing experiences were sheer torture, and one was with a midwife. I HATE pitocin, and am wanting to labor at home as long as possible this time. I am having alot more pain all over, trying to rest, and am hoping to hold on for 3 more months. Please pray for me to be able to.:grouphug:

[scrappyhappymama]

The only medicine issues I had when pregnant/nursing were when I went to see my doctor about migraines and he was hesitant to prescribe something, but I honestly don't fault the doctors that much for not understanding interactions with meds & momma's milk. The sheer number of meds out there, and new ones added every week it seems, it makes sense to me they'd rather play it safe.

 

Now, willing to stop and research it with you/for you --- that would be excellent. But to just know off the top of their head exactly what medicine is best for nursing moms? That aspect doesn't really bother me, and I would be fine discussing it with the pharmacist instead.

 

 

I rather disagree with this. I own Hale's book. I don't see why a doctor who treats women of childbearing age should not own one too. Instead, it seems the default is to recommend pumping and dumping or weaning. It just seems the lazy approach to me and not supportive of breastfeeding at all.

 

I once had an attack of what was eventually diagnosed as cluster migraines. I went through a battery of tests and procedures to try to determine what was wrong. During that miserable month, I was treated like I was an idiot for not wanting to immediately wean my four month old and start trying migraine medicines. I flatly refused and finally found some relief through acupuncture and chiropractic. The acupuncture was recommended to me by the neuro-ophthalmologist I was seeing at the time, the only specialist who was remotely sympathetic to my desire to continue breastfeeding.

 

Another small annoyance I've dealt with in ped offices is that EVERY pediatric nurse asks how many ounces the baby is getting at well visits. I appreciate that it's on their checklist to ask, but surely they realize that nursing moms do not necessarily know that. I usually answer with how many minutes they typically nurse. Then they'll ask how often baby nurses and I answer "whenever he wants to." "Yes, but how often?" It varies! Sometimes every few hours, sometimes every few minutes. Fortunately my peds have been bf friendly, so they accept "on demand" as a reasonable answer, but the nurses always tend to get a little annoyed with me. One nurse actually told me I *needed* to pump ahead of our next visit so I could tell he how many ounces he was getting. I *sweetly* told her that I had to pump with earlier children while I was working, but now I was blessed to be able to stay home full time and I wasn't digging out the blasted pump unless it was an emergency. Besides, pumping is not as efficient as a nursing baby, so the data wouldn't be accurate anyway. :D

[Scuff]

What vit d is she giving her? Our ped. recommended vit. D and I did give it to her. But I went to the health food store and got the natural stuff, not the prescription we were given. Natural D is much easier for the body to absorb. Perhaps that would help her gassiness.

[Bluegoat]

I, like Ellie, got my advice from LLL and not my Dr's. I ignored anything they told me that was contrary to LLL advice and we all got along just fine.

I not have grandbabies whose Mommies have mixed experiences with breastfeeding. Mostly good, but they seem to get their advice from Lactation consultations instead of LLL. And not all of it is great, however, I don't interfere unless asked. My theory is, if they don't ask, they aren't listening.

 

I do have a question tho. My newest darling grandaughter is being breastfed and they are doing great. Her Ped Dr. gave them Vitamin D drops and said that Vit D is the only vitamin that babies don't get from mom's milk. My first response is that they don't it then, so let's just not worry about it! God knows what he is doing.

However, they are giving it to her and she is very very gassy, and her diapers smell. I suggested very carefully they consider not giving them to her. "They did stop for a few days, but are still considering giving

them to her but in a much smaller dose.

 

What do you all say?

 

There is some disagreement over vit D, though at the moment the reccomendation seems to be to give it. There are questions over whether it is really best to give it to children or to the mother, and whether giving vitamins in general apart from food is really all that effective.

 

Individual issues are also important. How cold is it and how covered is the baby outside? How dark or light skinned is the baby? How much time does he or she spend outside.

 

The International Breastfeeding Center which is Dr Newman's organization has about the best breastfeeding info I have found. This is what he says on his page Myths about Breastfeeding:

 

6. Breastfeeding babies need extra vitamin D. Not true! Everyone needs vitamin D. Formula has it added at the factory. But the baby is born with a liver full of vitamin D, and breastmilk does have some vitamin D. Outside exposure allows the baby to get the rest of his vitamin D requirements from ultraviolet light even in winter. The baby does not need a lot of outside exposure and does not need outside exposure every day. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin and is stored in the body. In some circumstances (for example, if the mother herself was vitamin D deficient during the pregnancy) it may be prudent to supplement the baby with vitamin D. Exposing the baby to sunlight through a closed window does not work to get the baby more vitamin D.

[TheReader]

I rather disagree with this. I own Hale's book. I don't see why a doctor who treats women of childbearing age should not own one too. Instead, it seems the default is to recommend pumping and dumping or weaning. It just seems the lazy approach to me and not supportive of breastfeeding at all.

 

If you look back at the last bit of what you quoted, I said I didn't think doctors should be expected to know off the top of their head, ie, have the drug interaction info memorized, but that it would be wonderful if they were willing to stop and look it up for you.

 

Owning Hale's book, or having access to an on-line source that can be kept up-to-date with the ever growing list of medicines and new things we learn about old medicines, would certainly fit in with what I said.

 

Having Hale's book memorized cover-to-cover, with instant recall of what medicine is rated with which safety level, would be nearly impossible and is an unrealistic expectation to have in regards to the average doctor not specializing in mother/child health care.

 

But if my doctor doesn't know for sure, and for whatever reason doesn't have the info at his fingertips, I'd rather him refer me out (to a pharmacist or other source who does know) or err on the side of safety. It doesn't seem lazy to me, at all; it seems cautious and perhaps driven by fear of malpractice should something happen to a patient's nursing child because the doctor gave bad information. But that is fodder for another post entirely....

[gardenmom5]

Her Ped Dr. gave them Vitamin D drops and said that Vit D is the only vitamin that babies don't get from mom's milk. My first response is that they don't it then, so let's just not worry about it! God knows what he is doing.

?

 

:iagree: this. My ped prescribed both iron and vit d at various times. I figured if God wanted the baby to have more iron or vit d -there'd be more in my milk.

 

I did get help from the hospital LC with my last. He had no latch - I think it was one of my very first signs of his sensory issues. He wouldn't take a bottle either. he lost nearly 10% of his birthweight in less than 3 days. honestly, I blame the neo-natal nurses for even releasing him. They encouraged me to pump and feed since he. would. not. latch. period. not even on a bottle. he was rehospitalized for nearly a week, partly because of it. the LC in the NICU/special care nursery was able to help teach him to latch, but it was a production I literally had to engage in with him for two solid months before finally getting the message through to him this was what he was supposed to do. If I hadn't been an experienced nurser already, I'd probably have given up. not that I believe he'd have taken a bottle either . . . .